But Anderson was always seen as an aloof personality whose passion was questioned by fans who failed to connect with him in the same way as teammates like Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad or Vladimir Guerrero did over the years. Anderson even acknowledged that relationship in his written statement Tuesday, apologizing to Angels fans for "being somewhat difficult to read at times" then thanking them for their support nonetheless.

"I don't 'think' I was misunderstood. I know I was misunderstood," Anderson said to reporters Tuesday. "When I look back at all the conversations I've had and all the things that have been written about me, I know I've been misunderstood, to some degree.

"I know I play a little bit of a role in that. But, yeah, I've been misunderstood. I'm sorry for that. But it was who I was. I was going out, playing hard every day. For the most part, I was just a quiet person and I know that leads to a lot of misunderstanding."

For most of his time as an Angel, Anderson was one of the more quietly productive hitters in the American League. He was a three-time All-Star (2002, 2003 and 2005 – winning the All-Star Game MVP award and Home Run Derby in 2003) and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner as the best offensive player at his position (2002, 2003). He averaged 156 games a season during an eight-year stretch (1996-2003) and averaged 119 RBI during a four-year stretch with 100-plus each year (2000-03).

"I think the perception of Garret within the media and with fans is totally different than what Garret was really about,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ''Garret was one of the most focused and had one of the greatest wills to achieve. It didn't manifest itself outwardly in the same way it did with David Eckstein or in Darin Erstad or an Adam Kennedy. But make no mistake about it, his focus and his passion for the game and how hard he worked every day was second to none."

Despite that misconception, Anderson expressed some regret over not being able to retire as an Angel.

"I don't know if I've really come to terms with that yet. You all know in perfect world I would have liked to have finished my career there," he said. "There were some valuable things I got when I left (playing for two likely Hall of Fame managers – Bobby Cox in Atlanta and Joe Torre with the Dodgers) and I'm thankful for that because it gave me an opportunity to see something outside of Anaheim.

"When you spend your career in the minor leagues and play 14 years out of your career with one team and then you do have to go somewhere else ... you do – in a selfish, silly kind of way – think you are going to finish your career there."

Anderson reluctantly left the Angels when they elected not to re-sign him at age 36 following the 2008 season. He played one season with the Braves, batting a career-low .268 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI, then spent last season in a limited role with the Dodgers. He batted .181 with two home runs and 12 RBI in just 155 at-bats over 80 games.

"I know I'm more at peace with it than I would have been quite a few months ago when the ball was starting to roll on this, this was the direction I was starting to lean," Anderson said of making his retirement official. "Today, making the announcement, I'm already over that – the tough emotions of 'Am I ready to walk away from this game? Am I really done playing this game?'"

Anderson joked that "the decision is not totally mine -- I mean, there are 30 clubs out there who made the decision." He admitted he tried to find a way to extend his playing career into an 18th season but didn't like the options he had.

"I think you guys all know what road I would have to take if I wanted to get back to the major leagues," he said. "It would have been a minor-league invite, starting the season at some team's Triple-A and probably waiting for someone to get hurt. I just couldn't do that. I couldn't go down that road. I would never wish another athlete to get hurt. I would never want to be in position where I was waiting to come up if someone got hurt."

Anderson said he would "never say never" to the idea of a coaching career. For now, he will focus on his family (including two daughters and a son), leaving the game with "no regrets" – and the 2002 World Series as his proudest moment.

"My proudest achievement can't be anything I've done individually because I couldn't share that with anybody, with my teammates. So the World Series is something I'm most proud of," said Anderson whose three-run double provided the game-winning runs in Game 7 of the '02 Series. "That's one of the things I hold near and dear because I experienced that with 24 other guys over 7 ½ months. We became a family and we had a great time doing that. Those are memories I will always keep close to me."

Angels right-hander Jered Weaver remembered Anderson as "a first-class guy, very team-oriented" but someone he found a little intimidating at first because of the respect he had for his accomplishments.

"Coming into camp my first year, I didn't want to rub him the wrong way," said Weaver who now counts Anderson as an occasional golfing partner. "He was pretty much Mr. Angel, him and Tim Salmon. To get to play with someone like that was pretty cool."

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